30. Rainbow (3)
Jin-woo looked at the Fragment of Corruption as it emitted a harsh light.
‘Good thing I enhanced it.’
The enhanced Fragment of Corruption radiated more energy. Of course, as a result, more energy had been reflected in order to deal more damage to the Emperor of Corruption.
The protagonist suffered a great deal from the huge army that the Emperor of Corruption had made. After defeating the troops, priests who used the power of corruption appeared, followed by four cardinals. Corrupted Luna also appeared there, and after somehow solving it, the Pope appeared. The Pope used the Emperor of Corruption as a weapon, and only after the Pope died did the Emperor of Corruption use his body to become a monster.
The despair, pain, and great level of karma that the Pope had gathered were fused with the Emperor of Corruption, leading to the destruction of the Middle World and Heaven.
‘Well, now…’
There was no need to struggle like the protagonist. He was just tying and beating it up. Jin-woo cringed every time he thought of it. The opponent had started the fight first, so there was no need to let it slide away. Jin-woo continued to use the fragment. There was no need to cool down or recharge as the Cardinal did.
Jin-woo’s mana immediately charged and activated the fragment. There had to be dark energy such as pain and despair to activate normally, but Jin-woo was evil incarnate, causing it to overload each time.
[Keaaaargh!]
The Emperor of Corruption’s screams could be dimly heard. It was expected to have suffered a significant blow. When Jin-woo checked with the Magic Eye of Information, the accumulated experience points were very large. He could even aim for the next rank. At this point, it became like an experience point macro, a rare chance to level up.
‘Am I getting greedy?’
He was a little more greedy.
Jin-woo thought of the original story. There were four cardinals in the original novel. It was like imitating the Four Heavenly Kings, but anyway, there were a total of four fragments. The Pope was in the center of the Holy Empire, and each Cardinal ruled the east, west, north, and south of the Holy Empire. Cardron, who ruled the south, came directly here because the south part of the Holy Empire was close to the Raskan Kingdom.
Only the cardinal knew where the other cardinals were. Even the Pope, who was exploiting the power of corruption, was unaware of the existence of the Emperor. His free will gradually disappeared, and eventually, he was completely corrupted and controlled by the Emperor of Corruption. That was the scariest thing in the original novel, but now it was a loophole. The Emperor of Corruption couldn’t move according to its own will.
[Keaaaa, keaaaarrghh!]
There was nothing it could do except endure the pain.
‘It would be better to torture it enough and then get rid of it.’
If the Cardinal’s power were removed, it would be more convenient to deal with those brainwashed by them. The Holy Empire seemed on the verge of starting a war sooner or later, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to prepare in advance. An evil smile came to Jin-woo’s lips.
‘It’s not good to carry it around like this… it’s also uncomfortable to keep injecting it with mana.’
Jin-woo thought for a moment and came up with a suitable item. It was the Holy Sword he had acquired from the maze a long time ago. Given that it was corrupted, it went well with the Fragment of Corruption. It was also the sword in which Jin-woo’s energy lingered.
Jin-woo took out the sword, immediately enhanced it, and put the Fragment of Corruption in the center.
Whoosh!
With that, a great deal of energy rushed in.
[S] Golden Magic Sword
A tainted and corrupted sword was created by combining the enhanced Fragment of Corruption and Golden Power. Only Lee Jin-woo, evil incarnate, can use it.
*[S] Golden Corruption
*[S] Cool
*[S] Automatic Reflection
*[S] EXP Macro (Emperor of Corruption)
It became a powerful sword. Using the sword could continuously inflict damage to the Emperor of Corruption thanks to the Automatic Reflection function. The rainbow reflection had evolved to become an automatic reflection! The effectiveness of the fragment was also maintained. It was regrettable that the offense ability didn’t improve that much for a Rank S, but it was useful because it had excellent durability.
‘I’ll have to extract the information first.’
All he needed to do was extract information about the cardinals from Cardron. After organizing his thoughts, Jin-woo nodded and left his house. Since Jin-woo liked to be quiet, the city people also respected it. They didn’t disturb him unless it was on matters of business. Most of the time, they just prayed from afar.
Rumbles!
“Umm?”
However, it was crowded around Jin-woo’s house. The angels stuck themselves to the wall of Jin-woo’s house and gathered around it to stand in line. It seemed that all the angels in the city had gathered.
“Greeting! The tallest of the Golden Angels, Lariel, sees the Emperor!”
“…Really?”
“I’ve changed a lot, haven’t I?”
Jin-woo looked at Lariel and pondered for a while. He looked at Lariel with all his senses focused, but he couldn’t find any difference. It was just that he was even more vigorous.
“I grew up by the miracle you gave me, Emperor!”
He showed off his height by standing side by side with an angel next to him. In Jin-woo’s view, Ariel and other angels were the same height. It was only after awakening the Magic Eye of Information that he could tell that Lariel was a little taller.
“Thank you for making a miracle happen!”
Jin-woo didn’t quite understand, so he asked, and Lariel said that the light coming through the window had made him taller. It was because of the Fragment of Corruption. For the Angels, height was of great importance. There was a concept of being closer to the sky, and it was said that they could receive more divine power as a result.
“Do you care even now that you’re corrupted?”
He still didn’t quite understand it, but he thought it would be better to just leave it alone as Lariel seemed to like it so much.
‘There’s so many.’
There was enough to fill not only the yard but also the surrounding houses. It was a number enough to be recognized as a social class in the city. They were all elite angels, so it was questionable whether Heaven was working properly. It was fortunate that fewer angels came these days.
With everyone gathered like this, it seemed like there would be problems in the city. When Jin-woo was about to speak, everyone looked at him with sparkling eyes. A rainbow was still floating above his house. Everyone was eagerly waiting for a miracle.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it, but it might take him a whole day if he worked on all of them. For now, it was necessary to properly appease them and dissolve the crowd.
“If you work hard and get along well, I’ll do it for you, so let’s dismiss this for today.”
The angels’ eyes widened at Jin-woo’s words; then, they nodded in unison. Their eyes were burning. The light was emanating from them.
[Golden Angel’s morale has reached the limit!]
[The Golden Angels follow the Emperor of Gold more than the Goddess Luna.]
[A Quest has been created!]
[The Emperor of Gold has given the Golden Angels a quest!]
[A+] Great Fall
‘We will grow up!’
Only a few selected beings could possibly achieve the growth that they desired. It depends on the contribution to the Sacred Ground. Growth may be the key to a new evolution. Reward!
*Experience!
*Great Fall
A quest was created from their intense desire. All the angels dispersed without giving Jin-woo time to say anything. They ran around, working hard to make contributions to the city. If there were a new adventurer, they would clash and cling to each other as if they were competing. Furthermore, they even made Cardron’s priests work hard.
Anyway, it was nice to see everyone hard at work.
‘…The Emperor of Corruption comes first.’
Jin-woo thought so and tried to turn a blind eye to the chaotic scene.
* * *
Jin-woo called Cardron over. The cardinal’s appearance had changed a lot. He had lost quite a bit of weight, and his face seemed ten years older. After all, he had been working very hard without a break. Jin-woo could guess the intensity of the labor from that.
“It’s quite rewarding, isn’t it?”
“Uh-ugh!”
His legs were trembling. Cardron managed to return to normal when he used divine magic on himself. Jin-woo asked him where the Cardinals were. Cardron, of course, told him in great detail. Yoo-na was standing next to him and wrote it all down.
“Then you can go back to the construction site.”
Cardron smiled brightly and headed to the construction site. Who could secretly kidnap the Cardinals? It wasn’t easy to find such a powerful person in the Middle World. A senior adventurer wasn’t even at the level of a Knight on Earth. There were some very talented people, but he couldn’t tell them to kidnap the Cardinals.
‘So many.’
However, Jin-woo’s forces were overflowing with such beings. The problem was that there were too many. Yoo-na nodded and looked at Jin-woo.
“I think the General Manager specializes in that field. There are many talented people in the Demon Realm, so it would be nice to collaborate between them. We have to deal with three people at the same time.”
Jin-woo nodded. Some demons were optimized for things like assassination. Although their power weakened in the Middle World, it wasn’t a big problem. The real problem was the General Manager, the high-ranking judges, and the maids. To be honest, they were more dangerous than the demons. It wasn’t easy to anticipate the aftermath if they were released into the Middle World.
But there was no reason to hesitate.
‘I have to do it right.’
Jin-woo had no intention of acting clumsily. After all, he had read how the protagonist went through a hard time because of such clumsy thoughts.
“Call everyone.”
“Understood.”
As Jin-woo had ordered it, she called for a meeting right away. A portal opened in Jin-woo’s house, through which the General Manager and demons appeared. The General Manager’s force was great. As soon as he arrived in the Middle World, pure mana enveloped his body and made his pressure stronger. The demons who crossed from the Demon Realm seemed good and ordinary by comparison.
As the General Manager shook his head and stretched his neck, a crunching sound filled the air.
“Ooh! Master!”
As soon as he saw Jin-woo, he immediately knelt in front of him.
“Thank you for calling me to your cause! Sob… I have no regrets if I die now.”
“As always.”
The General Manager was still the same, although he was much stronger.
“It seems that your abilities have improved, right?”
“Sob, I’m ashamed of myself. It seems that I have reached my limit because I am not good enough. Please do not forgive my disloyalty!”
It was pure admiration, but the General Manager took it differently. It could be said that the General Manager didn’t improve at all. He had perfectly reached the limits of a human being to the point where he might be awakened to the level of an Emperor. The walls of the race were hard to overcome by will alone, yet the General Manager who was shaking that wall was enough to be called a monster.
‘That’s why he treats demon energy as if it is nothing.’
As he had already adapted to Middle-World, the General Manager continued to absorb the abundant mana. The General Manager glared at the demons who were standing awkwardly by him. They were those who became well-known in the Demon Realm.
“You people! How dare you hold your neck so stiff! Can’t you keep your head down?!”
“Ah, yes! M-My apologies!”
But in front of the General Manager, they were just little children. The demons hurriedly knelt at the General Manager’s yelling.
“Let me explain.”
When Yoo-na explained on behalf of Jin-woo, the General Manager was moved to tears. As the demons noticed it, they secretly pressed their eyes with their fingers to squeeze out tears to match him. It was because the General Manager would tear them apart if they didn’t.
“How dare they confront Master…”
Then the General Manager’s face turned bestial. The demons were also surprised, and they grimaced. Soon after, blood dripped down the corner of the General Manager’s mouth. He had clenched his teeth too hard. The demons tried to imitate it, but unfortunately, their regenerative power was so good that blood wouldn’t come out just by biting it. When they tried to bite their tongues, Jin-woo raised his hand and stopped it.
Anyway, the problem was that he was too loyal.
“Let’s calm down first… then, come back here after you get everything ready.”
“I will prepare it right now.”
“W-We will prepare too!”
The protagonist was alone, but Jin-woo was not. A unit made up of the General Manager, his high-ranking judges, the maids, and several high-ranking demons appeared in Middle World. They reacted with the mana of the Middle World and swelled in power.
‘They’re my subordinates, but…’
The visual was no joke. Objectively, they looked like demons from hell. It was truly a troop of evil. The Holy Empire and the Emperor of Corruption probably couldn’t even imagine it.
Jin-woo himself stepped up in this plan. It had been a long time since he had been on an outing. Jin-woo decided to take care of Cardinal Haron, the highest-ranked among the Cardinals, and the rest were entrusted to the General Manager and his subordinates.
Haron was the middle boss in the original story. He was also the best pervert in Middle-World. He kidnapped, tortured, and killed people to recharge his Fragment of Corruption, and he especially liked killing children. He was already like that from the beginning, but the Emperor made him even crazier. By comparing the information obtained from Cardron with the information from the original story, Jin-woo was able to fully understand Haron. Yoo-na approached Jin-woo after receiving information from the informant planted by Dopplo.
“It is said that he has left the castle and is in Viscount Haront’s estate. It’s the base Cardron was talking about.”
“It’s close.”
“The priests call it the Castle of Blessing.”
Haron was said to regularly visit a place called the Castle of Blessing. Jin-woo didn’t even have to walk as Dopplo’s informants had installed portal stones all over the place.
With that, Jin-woo teleported to the Castle of Blessing. For the Cardinal’s safety, a large army of troops was stationed to guard the castle.
‘It’s fancy.’
Jin-woo looked at the castle’s white walls. It was shining softly, even on this perfect night. Jin-woo felt disgusting energy exuding from beyond them, however.
Clattering!
A long line of wagons carrying livestock and luggage was moving slowly towards the castle. The luggage wagons were covered with a thick canopy, so he couldn’t see what was inside. Jin-woo came out on the road with a light step and stood in the middle. The wagon that found him stopped.
“What the?”
“What kind of crazy guy is that?”
“Just step on him!”
When the coachman was about to drive the wagon on without hesitation, chains spewed out of the woods. They caught the coachman and the soldier standing next to him.
Shrrrrrk!
“Kuggh!”
“Gasp!”
The chains were pulled tight to drag them straight into the darkness with a short scream. The soldiers guarding the wagon rushed in front of Jin-woo in bewilderment. They were wearing armor that symbolized the Holy Empire.
Jin-woo slowly approached the carriage. It was as if the many soldiers were invisible to his eyes. The soldiers tried to step forward to stop him.
“Huh?”
“What the…”
“Kugh!”
Their legs wouldn’t move. When they tried to move them by force, blood gushed out with great shooting pain. The soldiers lowered their heads and looked down. Silver thread dripping in blood twinkled in the moonlight, wrapped around their legs and knees. The blood drops did not fall to the ground but were pulled into the forest from which the silver thread was thrown out.
“Gasp!”
“Ugh!”
Their legs trembled, and they fell to their knees. It was spectacular to see dozens of soldiers kneeling at once, but Jin-woo just looked at the wagon. He wasn’t even interested at all, but it was a nightmare for the soldiers. They couldn’t even look at Jin-woo. It was because somehow, the silver thread wrapped around their neck as well. Their heads bent on their own, and their foreheads touched the ground.
Jin-woo passed by the soldiers. The moment Jin-woo passed them, they disappeared one after another as they were sucked into the forest without a chance to scream. Only a small crackling sound was heard. Paladins and soldiers from behind came rushing in but soon retreated at sight.
“D-demons!”
The head of one paladin who shouted fell off. They didn’t even dare to rush, nor were they even allowed to run away. They were all caught in a silver spider web. As Jin-woo looked at the wagon, Yoo-na, who appeared next to him, broke the wagon lock and opened it.
“It’s people.”
Yoo-na spoke with a frown. The luggage compartment was full of people who had been beaten or wounded. They were going to be used to replenish the fragment’s energy. There were countless such wagons.
‘Corruption….’
If the corruption was that great, he thought it would be okay to do it himself. Jin-woo smiled softly while looking at the paladins and soldiers. At that moment, the forest cried out.
The nightmare had just begun.
* * *
Around that time, Lariel and the angels were drinking beer happily in their lodgings. The first beer after work was great. They couldn’t even think of boring Heaven. They weren’t contacting Heaven at all, and their communication devices were piled up in the warehouse. The warehouse was full because so many angels had arrived.
“Is this the bathroom?”
“It’s the warehouse… watch out!”
A new angel opened the door to the warehouse. As the communication devices poured out, the angels were buried in them. One of them blinked on, and then all communication devices started working. Light gushed out and connected to Heaven. The Chief of Archangels was seen, surrounded by colorful lights.
Lariel and Ariel, holding beer glasses, hardened as they looked at the Chief of Archangels.
[You all…so you have been corrupted. Hic… did the Emperor do it to you?!]
“Rather than that…”
Ariel smiled awkwardly.
[What did the Emperor promise to you!]
The Chief Archangel’s voice was solemn. It originally sounded different, but it was heard because he was surrounded by Heaven’s light.
[Is it honor?]
Ariel, Lariel, and the others shook their heads.
[Is it authority?]
Everyone shook their heads.
[Is it a lot of treasures?]
“Well, it’s nice to have a lot of money, but not really.”
[Or is it power?!]
“Peace comes first.”
When Ariel said that, the Chief Archangel became angry. The same was true of the angels around him.
[Hic, come to your senses! You are the elite angels who follow the Goddess Luna!]
Lariel, who had been listening quietly, stood up. The Chief and the angels around him couldn’t help but be surprised.
[Y-your body is now in a better shape!? Your height…]
The angels began to murmur.
[I-it’s worth being corrupted.]
[That’s right.]
The angels around the Chief murmured. The Chief Archangel also nodded his head. It was worthy of being corrupted.
The sound of angels falling rang out. It was such a sweet temptation.
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